1. Field of the Invention
The present teachings relate to methods, in-vehicle systems, and mobile communication devices in which an in-vehicle system receives information from and sends information to a mobile communication device linked to the in-vehicle system via a short-range communication connection.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Currently, for hands-free communication within an automobile, a handheld wireless mobile phone in a passenger compartment of an automobile may wirelessly link to an in-vehicle system. Typically, the mobile phone and the in-vehicle system connect to one another using a short-range wireless communication technology, such as Bluetooth® (Bluetooth is a registered trademark of Bluetooth Sig, Inc., a Delaware corporation, with an office in Bellevue, Wash.). Generally, the in-vehicle system is limited to providing only basic phone operations to the wirelessly linked mobile phone, such as phone calls, address book searching, and basic text messaging features.
Today, a user's mobile phone is his/her communication center. For example, a user may use a mobile phone for online banking, phone calls, text messaging, viewing and sending e-mails, instant messaging, Internet searching, as well as other uses. However, existing in-vehicle systems are unable to easily access a mobile phone to communicate messages to a user, such as a driver. One possible solution to this problem is to install a phone module in the automobile and have the in-vehicle system use the phone module to communicate with a user's mobile phone via a standard phone call. However, such a solution may be more expensive and may have future compatibility issues if large changes are made to cellular communication infrastructure.